It's true we all survived sleeping on synthetic sheets, but they can make for sweaty, restless, uncomfortable babies. And it you're worried about what chemicals junior might be breathing in, it's far better to use organic cotton sheets.

Organature sheets are not dyed, and are made from organic cotton grown in northern New South Wales and woven in Indonesia.

They are certified organic, and the farmer who grows the cotton does not water his crops at all - the plants survive on rainwater.

Non-organic cotton, he explains, uses an enormous amount of water during the chemical spraying process.

My only concern was that straight from the packet the cotton feels rough, but after washing it softened beautifully.

Oxfam Batsiranai doll:

Plastics come from fossil fuels and contain all kinds of potentially harmful chemicals to bend them into shape - something to bear in mind as your little one cuddles up with Dolly. But from Oxfam there's an alternative to unhuggable hard plastic dolls.

Oxfam's Batsiranai dolls are handmade from organic cotton grown by small-scale farmers and sewn by a women's cooperative, all accredited by the Fair Trade Association.

For every doll sold here, a twin is given to a child in an HIV/AIDS infected family in Zimbabwe.

There are twelve beautiful designs to choose from (some girls, some boys), and each doll is about the size of an open adult hand.

When your child is older you can explain that Batsiranai translates as 'helping each other'.